Free assessments
Brisbane AI Consulting

Make AI useful, secure, and measurable.

Your team is probably already experimenting with AI. The opportunity is real, but so are the risks when data, permissions, policies, and training are not in place. Smile IT helps Brisbane and Australian SMBs adopt AI safely - from Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness to custom agents, workflow automation, AI-first projects, and ongoing managed AI support.

Wherever you're starting from, there's a clear first step. Our engagement model takes you from free checks to a live, governed, well-adopted AI capability, in the right order.

See how we engage Take a free assessment

Prefer to talk it through first? Email us or call 1300 766 720 and we'll help you pick the right starting point.

Smile IT team collaborating
Which way from here?

Every AI conversation starts in a different place.

Some organisations want Microsoft Copilot rolled out safely. Some have a process eating hours every week. Some have an idea that needs real software behind it. Our engagement model covers that whole path, and every track starts with a small first step. Pick the situation that sounds like yours.

Not sure where you stand
We want AI, but is our environment ready?

You suspect the foundations need checking first: permissions, data exposure, licensing, and whatever AI your team is already using without you knowing about it.

First step · AI Readiness AssessmentAbout a week. Or start with a free scan.
Repetitive work
A process is eating hours every week.

Invoice routing, ticket triage, approvals, reporting: the same steps over and over, in systems you already own. You want it automated, reliably.

First step · Automation DiscoveryA facilitated process-mapping session, prioritised by return.
A build in mind
We have an idea that needs real software.

An internal copilot, a document intelligence tool, an AI assistant for a specific job. It deserves to be staged, specified, and signed off before build money is spent.

First step · Requirements & Solution DesignProduces a build specification you sign off.
Already using AI
AI is here. Now it needs to be run properly.

Copilot or ChatGPT is already in the business, sanctioned or not. It needs governance, training, support, and a plan for getting more out of it.

First step · Readiness scan + GRC packGovernance documents, stakeholder workshops, and a steering committee stood up. Add-on to any assessment.
AI Advisory · Engagement Model

How We Engage

AI projects work when the work happens in the right order. Our five-phase model runs from free checks through readiness, remediation, and platform go-live, to AI-first projects and ongoing support: scan, prepare, remediate & deploy, build, evolve.

You don't have to start at the beginning, and each phase produces a costed, evidence-based decision about the next one. Start with a free scan or a conversation, and we'll meet you at whichever phase you're ready for.

The Five-Phase Engagement Model
Phase 0
Scan

Free self-serve checks on opportunity and readiness.

Free
Phase 1
Prepare

AI Readiness Assessment with evidence, not opinions.

Assessment
Phase 2
Remediate & Deploy

Fix the foundations, license, train, and go live safely.

Project
Phase 3
AI-First Projects

Automation workflows and bespoke AI builds.

Staged projects
Phase 4
Evolve

Managed AI services and solution support.

Recurring
Phase 1 · Prepare

AI Readiness Assessment

Before any AI tool starts reading your data, two questions need honest answers: is your Microsoft 365 environment configured for it, and is unsanctioned AI already in use? The readiness assessment answers both with evidence, not opinions.

Light

Copilot adoption, Copilot readiness (21 automated checks), and shadow AI detection scans, with a one-page readiness and gap summary presented in a live readout session.

Turnaround about 1 week
Broad

Everything in Light, plus a full data exposure report pack: tenant licensing, users and groups, SharePoint permissions and oversharing, and external sharing across SharePoint and OneDrive. Extended readout with your IT and leadership stakeholders.

Turnaround about 2 weeks
GRC Documentation Pack & Workshop Add-on to either tier

Smile IT's AI governance template suite (acceptable use, governance, incident response), facilitated workshops with your key stakeholders to adapt them to your organisation, and support establishing an AI steering committee to own governance going forward.

Gap analysis is included in both tiers: it's the point of the assessment, not an extra.

ASSESSMENT · One to two weeks
Phase 2 · Remediate & Deploy

Foundations First, Then Platform Go-Live

PROJECT · Scoped to your findings
Step 2A · Remediate & Enable

Fix What the Findings Surface

Remediation is scoped once your findings are known, so you only fix what's actually broken, in priority order. Without this work, AI deployments don't stick.

Data governance Identity & security SharePoint & oversharing cleanup Licensing & configuration
Model selection & licensing

We help you choose between Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude, then get licensing in place: Microsoft through our partner agreements, ChatGPT and Claude set up with the vendor alongside you, ready for rollout.

Adoption training

About six hours of hands-on sessions with your teams: practical prompting, safe data handling under your acceptable use policy, and your prioritised use cases.

Step 2B · Deploy

Platform selection: which AI runs your business?

The right choice depends on the work you want to improve, the data involved, your security requirements, your existing systems, and what your team is most likely to adopt. We group AI platforms into four practical buckets so the conversation isn't just about brand names, and we help you balance familiarity, capability, security, cost, and long-term value.

Microsoft
Copilot · Azure OpenAI · Power Automate · Microsoft 365

A strong starting point when your team already lives in Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Microsoft 365. The focus is permissions, governance, and secure rollout inside the tools your people already use.

Best forMicrosoft-first organisations
Anthropic
Claude · Claude API · Custom workflows · MCP-style integrations

Strong reasoning, long-context review, drafting, and tailored workflow experiences. Suits policy, legal, proposals, research, and internal knowledge work.

Best forDocument-heavy work & customised workflows
Other Platforms
OpenAI · ChatGPT · Manus · Grok · Specialist SaaS tools

Sometimes the best platform is the one your key users already understand, or the specialist tool that fits a particular workflow. We assess whether it's safe, useful, governable, and commercially worthwhile.

Best forFamiliar tools or specialist use cases
Local LLM
Open-source frameworks · OpenClaw · Hermes · Llama · Australian-hosted

Open-source orchestration frameworks like OpenClaw and Hermes deliver local LLM deployments, on-premise, air-gapped, or Australian-hosted, so sensitive data never leaves your environment.

Best forRegulated, sensitive, or high-control environments
Phase 3 · AI-First Projects

What Do We Build on Top?

STAGED · Commit one step at a time
AI Automation Workflows
Power Automate, in the Microsoft ecosystem you already own

For the processes your team does over and over: invoice routing, ticket triage, approvals, reporting. Two engagements, so you never commit to a build before you've seen the business case.

1 Automation DiscoveryA facilitated process-mapping session with the people who run your processes, prioritised by return on investment, then costed options with a clear go/no-go basis.
2 Automation BuildDesigned to a specification you sign off, built with error handling and logging, tested end-to-end with your process owner, deployed with a runbook and as-built documentation.
AI Bespoke
Custom AI solutions, treated like real software

When the answer isn't a workflow: an internal copilot, a document intelligence tool, an AI agent for a specific job. Staged, specified, and signed off before build money is spent.

1 Requirements & Solution DesignUsers, journeys, and success measures pinned down; architecture selected (Microsoft, Azure OpenAI, or Anthropic, with Australian data residency); a build specification with acceptance criteria you sign off.
2 Build & DeployAgent configuration, backend and interface development, AI-specific testing including adversarial red-teaming, and deployment with 30 days of hypercare.

Single sign-on with Microsoft Entra ID is standard on every build. We never train models on your data: your information stays yours.

Phase 4 · Evolve

Managed AI Services & Solution Support

The AI landscape changes monthly, and your capability needs a partner who evolves with it. Solutions we build are monitored, tuned, and kept current: model and API version management, a monthly allowance of minor changes, and a quarterly review.

Governance & monitoring Model & API version management Quarterly strategy reviews New capability rollouts Training & champions
RECURRING · Scoped to your solution
The typical journey

The path most clients take

You can enter at any step, and not every business needs every one. But when clients go end to end, this is the order that works.

  1. AI Readiness Assessment
    Know where you stand: readiness, shadow AI, data exposure.
  2. Governance (GRC add-on)
    Acceptable use, governance, and incident response documents in place, plus a standing AI steering committee.
  3. Remediation
    Gaps closed, scoped from your findings.
  4. License & train
    Your chosen AI platform licensed, rolled out, and adopted.
  5. Automation Discovery
    Your processes mapped and prioritised by return.
  6. Build: workflow or bespoke
    Automation live, or a custom solution specified and built.
  7. Support
    Solutions monitored, tuned, and kept current, quarter after quarter.

Most engagements flow through every phase over time. You don't have to start at the beginning if you've already done some of the work.

Phase 0 · Scan · Free

Not ready to book anything? Start free.

The assessments give you a quick read on where AI could have the biggest impact, where your environment may need attention, and what should happen next. They're not mandatory - if you'd rather speak with someone first, you can contact us directly.

01 · QUICKSCAN 5 min

AI Opportunity QuickScan

Answer a short set of questions to identify where AI could make the biggest practical difference in your business.

Exploring AI
02 · READINESS 8 min

Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness

Check whether your Microsoft 365 environment has the right foundations before you roll out Copilot.

Rolling out Copilot
03 · MATURITY 12 min

AI Maturity Benchmark

See how your business performs across strategy, governance, data, adoption, technology, and value - then walk away with a practical 90-day direction.

Scaling AI
ISO
27001
ISO 27001 Certified
Smile IT is proudly ISO 27001 certified. That means our approach to AI is backed by a formal information security management system, giving your business confidence that security, governance, and risk management are built into the way we work.

Still not sure which way to go?

Take the five-minute QuickScan to find your best first AI opportunity, or talk to us and we'll point you at the right phase. Either way, you'll leave with a clear next step. 1300 766 720.

Take the QuickScan Talk to us